← DictionaryCase Study
also called client story
A structured account of a client's situation, the work done and the outcome.
Proof, told as a story with a result.
What It Is
You will find Case Study in the Brand layer, alongside the rest of Brand Value. The canonical meaning is a structured account of a client's situation, the work done and the outcome.
It is a label with a settled working definition, so the value is in using it the same way every time. Once it is defined that clearly, arguments about it usually stop.
How It's Used
Case Study earns its keep in positioning conversations, identity decisions and the language a business commits to. It normally appears alongside Social Proof, Proof Point and Portfolio. The practical test is whether everyone in the room means the same thing by it.
Why It Matters
The cost of being vague about Case Study shows up later, not today. When it is unclear, every later choice about message, design and channel is made on sand. Clarity here removes a surprising amount of downstream argument.
Picture a word everyone in the room has agreed to use the same way. Proof, told as a story with a result.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Professionally, Case Study carries the narrow meaning: a structured account of a client's situation, the work done and the outcome.
Explained to someone with no marketing background, Case Study is proof, told as a story with a result.
The Bottom Line
If you only keep one thing about Case Study: proof, told as a story with a result. Everything after that is detail.